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LIGHTNING (12-5-0) at CANADIENS (9-8-1)

Tuesday, 11.12.2013 / 9:36 AM

TV/RADIO:

Sun Sports; AM 970 WFLA

Season series:

This is the first of four meetings between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens. In 2012-13 the Lightning went 0-2-1 in three contests versus Montreal, with all three games being decided by one goal.

Big story:

Tampa Bay is hoping to win for the first time at Bell Centre since October 13, 2010, dropping their last four contests previously played there. The Bolts also look to match their road wins total from last season, as they attempt to earn their sixth road victory Tuesday night. Last year in 24 road contests, Tampa Bay went 6-16-2 in games away from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Team scope:

LIGHTNING – Tampa Bay went into Monday afternoon’s game with a boost of confidence, but left deflated. After keeping the game scoreless midway through the second, superstar center Steven Stamkos’ right leg crashed into the goal post while on the backcheck. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher and to the hospital for evaluation, when it was discovered he suffered a broken right tibia and will be out indefinitely.

From here the Bolts must pick-up the pieces quickly with their second game of back-to-backs tonight in downtown Montreal. While for the Lightning it will be incredibly hard to fill the void left by Stamkos, head coach Jon Cooper reiterated it is a team game and the Bolts need to step-up and fill the holes in his absence.

CANADIENS – The Canadiens will look for their second win in as many games Tuesday night against the Bolts. After losing four straight contests, they snapped the streak by defeating the New York Islanders, 4-2, on Sunday. Netminder Carey Price made 24 saves, while Alex Galchenyuk, Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher combined for eight points (three goals, five assists) in the victory.

Daniel Briere looks to make a return Tuesday after being sidelined since October 19 with a concussion.

Who's hot:

In their past 12 games, the Lightning penalty kill unit has managed to kill off 38 of their past 40 penalties.

The #Bolts @Opalat18 skated in a career-high 18:02 of total ice time on Monday against the Bruins.

In his past five games, @akillorn19 has tallied two goals, notched three assists and has a plus-7 rating.

The #TBLightning own the sixth-best (tied with Vancover) road penalty kill in the league, killing off 88.9% of penalties.

Last season, Victor Hedman led the #TBLightning with five points (two goals, three assists) versus Montreal. He’s also on a four-game point streak against the Canadiens.

The #TBLightning look to match their road win record from last season (six) Tuesday against the Canadiens.

Notable Quotable:

“It’s tough to see him go down, not only for our team, but he is one of the best players in the world, it’s a loss for everybody. Injuries happen and he’s gone along time in his career without being seriously hurt. There’s no sugar coating it, he’s a huge part of our team and you can make an argument here if you were going to hand out the MVP of the league right now, you’d be hardpressed not to give it to him.” – Head coach Jon Cooper on the loss of Steven Stamkos

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Mobile name and logo, NHL GameCenter and Unlimited NHL are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.